Road rage killer dogged by the call of justice

There was a $US120,000 ($A230,000) bounty on the killer's head. The police began a hunt and someone put up the money to hire a private investigator.

18 June 2001Audrey Gillan, Washington

There was a $US120,000 ($A230,000) bounty on the killer's head. The police began a hunt and someone put up the money to hire a private investigator.

Then a website appeared.

As the case gained more notoriety, there were magazine and newspaper articles and the grieving "mother" appeared on television, including a guest appearance on the Oprah Winfrey talk show.

Now a trial is under way in San Jose, California. Not for murder but for animal cruelty, for the victim in this case was a 10-year-old bichon frise dog called Leo, who was thrown into oncoming traffic by a motorist apparently consumed by road rage.

America has been gripped by the trial of Andrew Burnett, who could be jailed for up to three years for killing the dog in February last year.

Every day the media benches of the court have been jammed with more than 20 reporters.

Last week the trial was postponed after Mr Burnett admitted throwing the dog on to a busy road.

His lawyer argued that it was "the dog's own darn fault" that his client had picked Leo up and dropped him when the dog bit him. He said Leo ran in front of traffic of his own accord.

Then a witness came forward and said the dog had done nothing wrong; it had not bitten anybody.

Leo belonged to another driver on the road that day, Sara McBurnett, who called Leo her "baby", and said "the dog was my precious little boy who I loved with all my heart".

She claims that while she was stuck in traffic, she could not help bumping into a big black sports utility. She just "tapped the bumper".

The driver got out and stormed up to her car. As she wound down the window he grabbed Leo, who had jumped into her lap. He threw the dog into the traffic and made off. She ran after him but Leo was hit by a car. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the vet.

For months there was no progress in the case. The website ran a sketch of the alleged killer with a goatee. Pet owners sent donations to help catch him.

As the case began to gain attention, clues to the identity of the man driving the black vehicle with the Virginia licence plates began to appear. Someone even named Mr Burnett and said he had a nasty temper.

Detective Sergeant Phil Zaragoza of the Santa Clara police spent 250 hours investigating Leo's death. More used to investigating murder, kidnapping and sexual assault in his 27 years with the force, he has a habit of keeping a picture of the victim in the case he is currently investigating. This time the face was that of an eight-kilogram dog.

"This helpless fluffy white animal was viciously attacked and thrown into traffic," Detective Sergeant Zaragoza said. When Leo was snatched, "a part of Sara McBurnett's psyche" was taken too, he said. "It terrorised and traumatised her. For the violence and heinous way this dog was killed, I think he deserves at least three years."

Detective Sergeant Zaragoza said the prosecution intended to present evidence that Mr Burnett had previously killed a dog in an unprovoked incident in Puerto Rico.

The case was not a waste of time and money, he said.

Ms McBurnett, who has acquired a new bichon frise, said: "I still miss him ... and suffer from recurring flashbacks of his tragic and painful death."

The Guardian

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